All is Fair in Love and War
by Templar-Fox
Summary: You have probably heard of Solid Snake right? And his brothers Liquid and Solidus? They make up the group, Les Endanger Terrible, the clones of the greatest soldier of the 20th century Big Boss. What you probably don't know is that there was another, a fourth clone created over two decades after the first. Her name? Arctic Fox.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

All is fair in love and war. That small phrase was drifting through my head as the waves licked up at my feet, as though trying to touch them; but the waves never came quite far enough up the shore. I sighed, thinking back to when I was a child and used to make a game of such things; seeing how far down the beach I could run and not get wet. Usually, this game ended with me being soaked from the waist down after being caught by and unexpectedly large wave. But that was long ago. Before war had swept through my home and destroyed almost everything.

As I was gazing out at the endless blue of the sky and the sea, my mind began to think of the things that happened then, so long ago. "Was that really 20 years ago…?" I whispered in quiet thought to myself. No, it was longer than that; it was over 25 years ago that these things had happened. When I thought about it, it really didn't seem all that long ago. But then again, neither did a lot of things.

It seemed like just yesterday that the war had begun brewing. Our parents had tried to shield us from such things; but their efforts would soon be forgotten. Most of them were killed early on leaving only young teenagers to take their place; to take care of the younger children and to do something no child should have to do. To fight soldiers; to kill.

I remember I felt most alive when I was on the battlefield. The adrenaline rush, the smell of freshly fired guns, everything about it was exhilarating; like I was meant to be there. But that couldn't be right, could it?

A lot of things shouldn't have been right. But all is fair in love and war.

I remember as children, we would say that phrase to one another childishly after the other had lost a game do to a dirty trick. Now, looking back on it all, I know the truth and foolishness behind such a statement.

A small child left without a mother. Love separated or destroyed. Friends turned against each other. I suppose that, no, nothing is truly fair in war.

/Hello! And thank you for reading the prologue to my fan fiction! This is the story for my OC Arctic Fox. The Fourth and final result of the Les Enfants Terrible./


	2. Chapter 1-My Life is a Nightmare

"Fox… Fox, wake up!"

I woke up with a start in a cold sweat and panting. Wolf was standing over me; she had a concerned look on her face.

"Were you have more dreams about…." Her voice dropped off for a moment, "…It?" she finished.

All I did was nod. About two weeks prior, I had witnessed something that has haunted me since. My parents' car exploded, with them and my sister inside. I was barely far enough away for it to be a safe distance and I still didn't get away unscathed. I was blown back a few yards into a wall and a piece of shrapnel had taken out my left eye.

Wolf was the only one that knew everything that had happened. Others only knew the bare minimal. Ever since, I had been shaken awake by Wolf several times because of terrible dreams.

"How could you tell this time?" I asked softly.

"You were starting to thrash and you were getting kind of loud…"

I just shook my head, trying to get the visions out of it. I looked over at the night stand in between our beds where the clock should have been. After I realized I had knocked it off I picked it up off the floor and looked at the display.

_~2:51AM~_

"Go back to sleep. I don't think I'll be sleeping for awhile." I sighed, getting up and dressing. She just nodded and quickly went back to sleep, no doubt exhausted from rooming with me. I had these kinds of dreams almost every night.

Slowly and quietly I walked around our make-shift base, checking on the rest of the people and children sleeping there. The Mercury Unit, which was the espionage unit, was far enough away from the front lines that we had also become the baby sitting squad; meaning that we had to watch over children whose parents were killed or missing.

As I watched the others sleep I envied them; peace and a few small smiles painted over their faces. I hadn't had this kind of wonderful sleep for a few weeks.

The hours between then and dawn passed slowly. The day was even more so. We took shifts in the guard tower and patrolling. This was how most days were. It was boring. We had yet to have any kind of missions other than baby sitting. But this day would prove to be very interesting. At least once it became dark again any way.

I was inside , sipping at a cup of coffee. I was tired and trying to wake up before I had to start my shift outside. It wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't almost two feet worth of snow outside. Suddenly Seal, the other main member of our small (almost non existent) unit, burst through the door.

"Fox!" he exclaimed, almost out of breath after having run for the nearest door and up two flights of stairs.

"What is it?"

"There is someone outside. I don't think he saw me."

"Well what did he look like? Do you think he's with them?!" I questioned. There was a pause as he stopped to catch his breath. He shook his head.

"I'm not sure. His gear is different then theirs. He's wearing some kind of weird suit and his weapons aren't standard issue." Another long pause. "What should we do?" he asked.

Out of all of us, I had spent the most time learning how to fight and getting in fights in school so everyone always came to me about these things. I had kind of been pushed to the head of the unit because of it. That and I was pretty handy with a gun and almost always had a plan.

"I'll take care of him." I said and Seal let out a sigh of relief.

Little did I know that the man outside would become one of our greatest allies in this war. I didn't know what I was up against in a fight against him either. His fighting style was different than anything I had ever seen before, and it was a lot better too. I was almost no match for it. But I had a few things on my side. Surprise and I was familiar with my surroundings.

It wasn't an easy fight and the stranger almost beat me. I still don't know how I managed to win. Perhaps it was because he paused and looked at me as though it brought back an all but forgotten memory. Like he was seeing a ghost, he quickly shook it off. Not before I took advantage of it though and, I managed to knock him out. With some help from one of the bigger guys at base, we dragged him inside and tied him up.

Over the next few days, some of the guys tried to take a crack at him and get some information from him. Nothing. He wouldn't even tell them who he was. Meanwhile, I watched and waited. Hacking and searching for anything I could find on this guy. I noticed he was talking to someone over a small radio that was in his ear. I let it be, _'Perhaps I could use that to my advantage later~'_ I thought. Then, bingo. I found everything I was looking for.

I called Seal and his brother who had been attempting to question him again into my office. All it really was was an extremely tiny and crowded room with a desk, a few chairs, my computer and a window overlooking a snow covered field and a snow storm. A few minutes passed as we discussed what to do. Then I gave them a few orders that would end up being quite a gamble.

"Are you sure about this Fox? How can you be so sure we can trust him? He wouldn't answer any of our questions and with that kind of gadgetry he would almost have to be working for them."

"No, he was too good to be one of them. The little information he did give us checked out. He isn't one of the goons they sent here. Besides, what choice do we have? We need his help; we are losing ground every day and without his help we don't stand a chance." I stated firmly before sighing, rubbing my forehead and sitting down.

I was only 13 and this was a lot of pressure. Leading your friends, people you have known all your life, into something like this wasn't easy. We were all barely teenagers for crying out loud!

"Go get him, keep him tied until you have him inside. I have a little deal for him and his friend."

With that the brothers left and I was alone again. What was I thinking? This could easily be the biggest mistake I could ever make. That 'What if?' question was running through my head as I stared blankly at my computer screen. _What if he was one of them? What if I get all of us killed?_

I was so lost in those thoughts that I almost didn't notice when they walked back in. This other man looked taller than I remember. Perhaps it was because he was standing next to teenage boys. He had a few days stubble on his chin and wore a bandana on his head; it had a small infinity symbol on it. _'That's odd...' _I thought, but then shrugged it off and signaled for the brothers to leave. Now was when things would get interesting.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

'_Well, here goes nothing.'_

Slowly, I approached him and untied him. Now this really was a risky gamble, but if he tried anything I was ready for it. Or at least I hoped I was.

"What do you want exactly?" he asked, his voice was gruff.

"Nothing much, Solid Snake. I know everything about you. Outer Heaven, Zanzibar Land, Shadow Moses… Even the Tanker Incident, the Big Shell and your little group known as Philanthropy. To be honest, we could use your help Snake." I paused for a moment, sitting down behind the desk once more, "Our forces are under trained for what we are going up against. We could use someone with your skill and combat experience to train them."

"Why would you want training from a terrorist like me? Also, why should I help you? I have my own reasons for being here. I don't have time to train a bunch of rookies."

"Yes, I can imagine you would. But that is where we come in. In exchange for training, we would be more than happy to help you complete your mission. We know the area and you don't. We also have information that you don't. Why don't you talk to your friend about it? Hal, isn't it?"

With that Snake grunted and placed two fingers up to his neck, activating his in ear radio, contacting his friend Otacon. I looked once again at my computer screen and began to type and pull up files. I had always been good with computers. _'Man, I never thought this would actually come in handy before.'_ I thought to as I continued to type away, paying no mind to Snake who was still on the radio with Otacon.

After a little while of talking and a bit of arguing, Snake ended the call.

"So what is it Snake? Will you help us?"

"What exactly would happen if I said no?" he asked, perking an eyebrow.

"Nothing most likely, but it would help to have someone who knows they're way around here. Its quite easy to get lost here. Plus, I am quite certain you need some of the information I have."

"I'll do it, but under my terms. One of those being I would like to know who the hell I'm talking to."

"Deal." I said much too eagerly, "My name's Fox."

Snake looked at me oddly for a moment, as though another memory was brought to mind. But, like before, he soon shook it off and I resumed my talking.

"Now, I need to know something from you; what exactly are you doing here and why?"

"Philanthropy got word that there was development of a Metal Gear out here. The fighting and impending war would have been the perfect cover for it." He said leaning forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "That kind of a weapon is a threat to any and everyone. I came here to find out if it was true; if it is, I'm to destroy it."

"Huh… That actually doesn't surprise me. I've heard a bit about that. It's a nuclear walking battle tank, correct?"

"How did you know that? That's supposed to be classified…" Snake questioned, a bit surprised by the sound of it.

"The same way I know who you are without asking. I have my ways. If it is so classified, how do you know about it?" I retorted.

"We have our ways."

I smirked slightly, this was amusing; but now to get back to business.

"So, any ideas on where this Metal Gear might be…?"

"Philanthropy has a few ideas where they could be hiding it. But we don't know where it is for sure."

"It seems as though we have our work cut out for us then."

That was an understatement. I wasn't even quite sure what this 'Metal Gear' looked like, let alone how or where to find it. This wasn't really my area of expertise. Thankfully, we had some time to plan for that. Or so I thought anyway.

Before our training even began, everything began to turn down hill even faster. One seemingly calm and fairly uneventful night quickly turned into a blood bath. A night when a few of our best fighters had gone out on a raid of one of the smaller enemy bases in the area. I had gone with them. We knew not of the bloodshed at base until we returned.

When we saw what had happened, we were surprised that anyone was even still alive. Upon entering the first room, we all assumed that there were no survivors; that is how brutally we had been attacked. The first few rooms were covered in crimson and littered with the bodies of most of the people we had on base. Other rooms had been ransacked; every draw and file had been scattered on the floor. One of the most sickening parts was that half of them were small children; all with the same, terrified expression on their face. All is fair in love and war.

A few small bits of hope had been instilled though as we continued to search the rooms. A soldier hiding in a washing machine; a few small children huddled together behind some stairs. Those few surprises were enough to keep me looking and investigating what had happened there that night. I was the only one who even had the composer or will to go look in the guard tower to see if anyone remained alive up there.

We had two make shift watch towers each manned by two people at a time. They were both almost like another room built on top of the highest parts of the two big buildings that made up our base. One was on the north side of the base and the other was on the south side. Each consisted of a peaked roof and low walls on the outer edge with a railing running about a foot above that. That night we only had enough people to man the one tower though. Everyone else was needed for other guard duties or was out on the raid.

As I climbed to the top of the tower, my stomach tied itself in knots. Wolf had been on duty that night. I stopped climbing, my heart was racing. I wasn't sure if I could handle the sight that was most likely awaiting me at the top of the tower. At first glance, into the tower I felt as my heart stopped. There were two people in the tower. Both dead; the sniper was shot through the heart and the other was...stabbed in the back? After a moment I realized, only one body was one of ours. It hadn't registered with me at first; my brain had been too overwhelmed.

I quickly finished my climb up the ladder and through the hatch in the floor. Almost as soon as I had entered the tower, I was pinned to the railing with a knife across my throat being held in and arm bar. I just laughed. I was too glad to do anything else. My best friend was still alive.

"Wolf! It's alright it's me! Fox!" I shouted ecstatically. I really should have been sorrowful and distressed at the moment because of the bloodbath that had happened here but one of the few people that was important to me was still alive.

Surprised, Wolf quickly let me up and took her knife off of my throat.

"I thought you were all dead." She said as tears started to fill her eyes. Wolf had always been the most innocent and sensitive of all of us, this was no doubt just as traumatic to her as to the small children inside.

"Wolf… What happened here?"

"I-I don't know… Falcon and I were on watch. At first, e-everything seemed quiet…" then her voice dropped off and she started to sob.

"Wolf, calm down, please, I need to know what happened up here tonight." I said, placing my hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her a bit. "Everyone who is coherent enough downstairs to talk says they had no warnings or anything. What happened?"

At that statement she seemed to brighten up a bit. The news that anyone was still alive looked like a surprise to her and after a moment, she started to speak once more.

"Everything seemed so quiet. Then one of the motion sensors to the south east tripped and Falcon was checking it out with his scope when he just collapsed and… I-i-I couldn't stop the bleeding. I tried to radio everyone in the base but no one responded… I th-thought they were all….they were all dead!"

"Well, they aren't. Not all of them anyway."

After a few more moment of discussion, we both climbed down and joined the others inside the base. We all checked the base a few more times before beginning a long and strenuous debriefing before planning our next move.

"Would all of you calm down!" I shouted over all of the chaos and disorder. Everyone was bickering and panicking over what had happenned.

"But Fox, they are going to kill us! All of us! What else are we supposed to do?" Seal's older brother, Jackal responded.

"Maybe we should just surrender…" Seal muttered under his breath. Then before I even knew what I was doing, I had smacked him so hard he had a handprint on his face for the next week. My face was burning red and his was no doubt stinging badly.

"Don't say that again. Look at how far we have come! And you would just give it all up that easily? Yes, we might die, but wouldn't you rather die fighting for something you believe in instead of living the rest of your life knowing you could have done something to change the future for the better but instead you just sat by and watched your world crumble and fall apart around you because you were too scared? If you want to leave and let your parents deaths go to waste, then you know where the door is. Otherwise, calm down and we'll figure this out. Panicking isn't going to solve anything." I said, half shouting; both out of anger and just trying to get over the noise in the room.

"Okay, so what do you propose we are going to do then, oh wise one?" started one of the snipers from the Apollo division, her code name if memory serves, was Lynx.

"Well, my great and mighty plan was to hide in the trees and throw pies and slushies at them until they surrender."

"Figures…" she muttered. Wolf just chuckled and I smirked.

"Okay, now if we are done sassing each other, I do actually have a few ideas of what we could do; although, I am still partial to the pies and slushies idea…"


End file.
